


King and Lionheart

by theaceupmyownsleeve



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Guilt, Happy ships it, Love Confessions, Lucy Heartfilia's Apartment, Self-Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theaceupmyownsleeve/pseuds/theaceupmyownsleeve
Summary: Lucy has always liked Loke, but he can be harder to read than the stars themselves.Loke would do anything to prove that his feelings are genuine.
Relationships: Lucy Heartfilia/Loke, Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster & Lucy Heartfilia & Erza Scarlet
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	King and Lionheart

Lucy ducked the first shot aimed for her head and lashed her whip forward, hoping to strike the gun from the assassin’s hand, but he twisted out of the way, his teeth bared in a snarl.

She could not keep doing this. A quick glance to her right showed the flash of swords, the rise of smoke, the sharp shards of ice and rush of water, all directed on further enemies. 

It was up to her to stop him.

She could hear the  _ click click  _ of his gun reloading, see the green flash of a magic circle rising from the muzzle. 

The wall behind her head crumbled to bits as she threw herself to the floor, reaching for her keys.

She would need someone fast.

“Open, gate of the lion!” she shouted, raising the key into the air. 

“You called?” Loke’s disembodied voice rang out as he appeared at Lucy’s side in a flash of golden light. From behind his glasses, his warm brown eyes glittered as he dropped her a wink. 

Another shot rang out, and Lucy rolled on instinct, hardly knowing whether she was moving into the path of the bullet or away, the frantic beat of her heart drowning out Loke’s voice. 

“Now is not the time for that! I’m on a rather—” She rose to her knees, lashing out with her whip in a circle as the assassin closed in— “tight schedule!”

“I’m on it!” Loke leapt forward, strands of light trailing from his fists as he landed a punch to the other man’s shoulder. His rings glinting, he aimed another shot for the assassin’s head—

—and he ducked, lashing out with the butt of his rifle towards Loke’s stomach. 

He twisted out of the way, but the strikes kept coming, raining towards him with shocking force.

“Is she your girlfriend?” the assassin cackled, jerking his head towards Lucy.

She could feel her face flame. 

“She seems pretty content to let you do all the work.” He cracked off another shot, this time aiming for Loke’s leg. “I’m going to break your limbs one by one and make you watch as I kill her.” 

Loke snarled, lashing out with a wild right hook, aiming towards the assassin’s face.

The man caught his wrist, pushing him back, eyes locked onto his face with sadistic glee as he raised his rifle—  _ How was he firing a rifle with one hand—  _

Clamping down on her urge to yell out her attack— goodness, she was spending too much time with Natsu— Lucy flicked her whip forward. 

He cried out as it wrapped around the barrel of his gun, but it was too late.

With a jerk of her wrist, the gun clattered to the ground. 

Loke flashed her a thumbs up with one hand and brushed back his hair with the other, which was blowing in some breeze that seemed to come from nowhere.

She could not help but giggle, a sound she quickly bit down on. He was definitely using his magic to summon wind in some bona fide attempt to look cool.

If she was being honest with herself, it was working.

Loke looked sharp in his suit, even more so as he grasped the assassin by the shoulders and flung him to the floor. Clapping one hand to his forearm, his glasses flashed as a vortex of light began to swirl around his fist. 

“This is for Lucy!” he shouted, driving his fist straight into the assassin’s stomach. His body jerked once and fell still, a weak groan rising into the air. “Even if you had broken every one of my limbs, I would never let you lay a hand on her.” He stepped over the fallen man, brushing imaginary dust from his suit jacket, and shot Lucy another of his toothy grins. As he reached her, it faded, as his eyes traveled over her face. 

“What?”

“Your face is scraped.” 

She rubbed at her cheek, dropping her gaze to the floor. “It wasn’t from him. I think I must have bumped it on the floor when I dodged him.”

“You should have called me earlier.” He gave another dramatic wink, his grin sharpening into a smirk. “I would do anything to protect you, Lucy.” 

“How quickly you forget that I protected you!” Lucy braced her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow at him. “I seem to remember I pulled the gun out of my hand.”

“My heroine!” He mimed swooning. “You looked like a guardian angel, saving my life again.”

She blew out a breath. “You don’t owe me anything. You’re my fr—” 

Then a  _ click click  _ rang out, sharp and sudden, and Lucy’s words stopped short. 

Rising from the ground was the assassin, his hand braced to his ribs, a smaller pistol in his hands. 

Time seemed to slow down as the shot rang out. Lucy sprang into action, throwing herself to the side, out of harm’s, so quickly she scraped her knee on the ground. 

Panting, she raised her head to see the bullet changing trajectory mid-air, arcing towards her with a flash of magic. 

And then Loke was there. 

His body burst apart in a splatter of gold starlight as the bullet struck him, an agonized scream wrenched from his lips.

“No!” Lucy cried out, “Loke!” She felt the thread of magic connecting them stutter to a stop, the emptiness of his closing door rattling in her chest. “How dare you!?” She lashed out with her whip again. 

The assassin pulled the pistol out of the way, pushing himself to his knees painstakingly. “You missed.”

“Did I?” She tugged, just hard enough for him to feel the coils of her whip biting into his arm. 

“That won’t help you! You don’t have a spirit to shield you this time.” He raised the gun, his finger inching towards the trigger—

—And Lucy yanked her whip.

He cried out as he was jerked towards her, straight into her waiting foot. She kicked with all her might, driving her boot into his crotch so hard she heard something crunch.

She could practically see his spirit leave his body as he crumpled like a rag doll. It was easy enough to tug his pistol from his weak fingers. Lucy knew little about guns, but she had watched Bisca enough to know how to look threatening with one. Cocking back the safety, she pressed it close to his face. “Any other weapons?”

“No!” He raised his hands as best he could with the whip coiled around his arm. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” 

“Good.” She threw the pistol as hard as she could in the opposite direction and knelt beside him, wrapping her whip around his body until he resembled a trussed pig. 

Sighing, she stepped back, the adrenaline draining from her body. Without the fight to distract her, it was quickly replaced with shame. She had seen Loke’s body fragmented like that only once before, when she had fought Angel. She had destroyed Aries’s body too, with so little care that Lucy wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. The assassin’s voice echoed in her mind. 

_ She seems pretty content to let you do all the work. _

She had said that celestial spirits were not shields over and over again until the words were as ingrained on her tongue as her own name. 

She had broken that promise today, even if she had not been trying to. 

“Nice work, Lucy.”

She jumped as another voice spoke from behind her. She turned to see Erza, who seemed to have hardly broken a sweat in spite of fighting the bulk of the assassins. 

Natsu sprang up behind her, holding up a hand for a high five. “Now you can pay your rent! This job went great!” When she did not return his high five, he blinked up at her, confused, and pressed his hand closer to her face. “Lucy!” he whined, “Don’t leave me hanging!”

“What’s wrong, Lucy?” Erza slung an arm around her shoulders, her brow creasing. “You’re pale.”

“Loke took a bullet for me.” She found she could not look her in the eye. Erza would never have needed anyone to do such a thing for her. “It was one of those homing spells. I should have realized it sooner.”

“Awww! Why does he get all the fun?” 

Erza jabbed her elbow into his side.

“Ow! What!?”

“Lucy,” she dropped a hand onto Lucy’s shoulder, her gauntlet heavy, “would you have done the same for him in a life or death situation?”

She glanced up, startled. “Of course!”

“Then you can’t beat yourself up. You are a powerful wizard, but even powerful wizards must rely on their friends. How long will it take for him to heal in the spirit world?”

“Probably until this evening.”

“Summon him then and talk about it. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear from you.” 

“They’re in  _ looooooove!”  _ Happy singsonged, popping up from behind Natsu. 

“We’re not, you stupid cat!” 

“I’m going to go help Juvia and Grey load these miscreants into the cart. I’ll drive it over to the council jails. Natsu?”

“No, thanks. I’ll walk.” 

“Very well.” Erza knelt to pick up the assassin that Lucy had defeated and the one that Natsu had fought, evident by the burnt smell rising from her clothing. Erza draped both over her shoulder as if they weighed nothing and hurried off with a clank of armor. 

“Loke will be fine!” Natsu grinned at her, flexing one arm. “He’s tough!” 

“Thanks, Natsu.” The more she thought about what Erza had said, the more it resonated within her. Shenake had no idea that guilt could cause such a fluttering in her stomach. Butterflies? Shaking her head fiercely, trying to dislodge the thought, she reached for her keys. “Open, gate of the maiden!” 

In a spiral of chains and skirts, Virgo appeared before her, landing in a semi bow. “Yes, princess?” 

“I need you to deliver a message to Loke.”

“Leo is currently indisposed. He’s healing after a grievous wound.” Suddenly, Virgo cocked her head, her bright blue eyes widening. “Did you punish him, princess?”

“No!” She sighed, “No, Virgo. I would never.”

“Oh.” She sounded almost disappointed. 

“When Loke wakes up, can you tell him I want to see him?” 

“Absolutely, Princess.” With a wink that made Lucy’s cheeks flush, the celestial spirit stepped back through her door. 

:3

As the night dragged on, Lucy became more and more worried. She had set out two places at dinner, just in case, but she ate the fish that she had cooked alone and put the rest aside for Happy to eat later. 

Trying to occupy her mind, she sat down at her desk and pulled her notebook from its drawers. The scene she had left off on was a short one, more banter than anything else. It was easier than usual to get caught up in writing it, watching the story unfold in her mind’s eye. 

The main love interest would give her protagonist a saucy wink from behind a pair of squared off glasses, brown eyes warm and full of love—

Lucy almost dropped her pen as Loke’s face sprang to mind. Was she honestly modeling a character after him? Quickly, she skimmed back through the rest of the page, spotting bits and pieces of Loke leaping out at her. A freshly pressed suit, rings glittering on fingers, displays of bravado that barely concealed the emotions simmering beneath. 

How had she not noticed? 

Sighing deeply, she sat back in her chair, stretching her arms over her head. She might as well go to sleep early so that she was rested for whatever shenanigans her team would pull tomorrow.

That was when the soft sound of a clearing throat rang out behind her. 

Loke stood there, his usual suit jacket dangling from his fingers and his tie undone. The dark circles under his eyes were darker than she had seen them since his time stranded on earth. 

“Virgo said you needed me?” His trademark smile had a forced quality to it. 

“I wanted to see if you were alright!” She hurried to hug him, flinging her arms around his neck. 

He grunted, catching her by the waist before she hurtled into him. 

“Did I hurt you?” She pulled away, searching his eyes. 

“Of course not!” He returned her embrace gingerly, as if she were the one injured. 

“You’re not fully healed, are you?”

“Don’t worry about me. It just takes time.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, his gaze sharpening. “I would do it again in a heartbeat to protect you. Besides, I’m not human. I can’t be hurt, remember?”

“You and I both know that isn’t true.” She crossed her arms, staring up into his face until he glanced away, his cheeks coloring. “Loke… I don’t want to use you as a shield. I don’t want to be like Karen.”

He flinched at the name. “Trust me, you’re not.” A rueful smile spreading over his face, he reached to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his touch lingering on the heart earring dangling from her ear. “What kind of celestial spirit would I be if I did not risk it all for the woman I loved?” 

Lucy batted his hand away. “Stop teasing me. I’m trying to be sincere, and it’s hard when you’re,” She gestured to all of him, huffing a breath, “doing this all the time!”

“Doing what? Flirting with you?” He chuckled. 

“Confusing me. I never know if you’re serious or not.”

“Lucy…”

“You’re a flirt and a playboy, and I’ve never even had a boyfriend. When you play games with me, I lose every time. I can’t hide my emotions like you, and everyone knows I’m terrible at taking a joke. You may shield me in battle, but it’s me who has to shield my heart from you.” She turned away, wrapping her arms around herself. “It sounds dumb when I say it out loud, but I will not be just another conquest.”

She gasped as warm arms circled around her, pulling her back against a solid chest. 

“What did you think I was doing when I ran from you those first few times? Protecting  _ my  _ heart.” He chuckled again, breath tickling her ear. “I always thought you were beautiful— I may not be human, but I’m not blind either— but seeing how you treated my fellow spirits? When you gave me the second chances we both knew I have never deserved? I stopped fighting my feelings. Everything I have said, I have meant. Even my powers know it. Everytime I fight for you, my magic grows.” 

Gentle hands landed on her shoulders, and Lucy found herself spun around to face him, staring up into his warm eyes. She could almost see starlight within his irises, and she caught her breath, reminded once again that he was distant,  _ immortal.  _ Even as the thought crossed her mind, he stroked his thumbs over the bare skin of her collarbone, the pads of his fingers soft and so very present. 

“If you do not want me like I want you, tell me now, and I will settle for being your spirit, your protector. Friend and guardian only.” He leaned in closer, and for a second, Lucy wondered whether he would kiss her. Instead, he dropped his hands, sliding them into his pockets, his movements painstakingly slow, as if to touch her was some great temptation. “But please, Lucy, if your feelings are even a fraction as strong as mine, please do not deny me because you think I do not truly love you.” 

It was like someone had stolen all the words from her head. Lucy could feel her face growing hot beneath the intensity of his gaze, and she swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. That ridiculous churning had returned to her stomach, and this time there was no ignoring its cause. As she clenched her fists, feeling the sweat of her palms against her fingers, she found she was trembling. “Then prove it.”

His eyes lit up at her words, the clouds behind them breaking apart to reveal brilliant sunlight. “I’ll do anything.”

“You’ve already leapt in front of a bullet for me, Loke. I’m not asking for  _ anything.”  _ Feeling bolder, she stepped up to lay her hands on his chest, feeling the frantic flutter of his heart like a trapped butterfly beneath her palm. “I set the pace. We go on a date, we take it slow. Is that okay with you?”

He nodded, “The more moments to savor, the better.” He reached up to stroke over her jaw with his thumb, leaning forward—

Lucy’s heart jumped, and for a moment she considered letting him kiss her. 

But no.

She reached up to lay a finger against his lips, stopping him cold. Not this moment, in her messy bedroom, with her still reeling from his confession and him only half healed. 

She wanted a perfect moment.

“I set the pace, remember?”

“Of course.” He took the hand against his mouth and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it. “How would dinner tomorrow night sound for our first date? Nothing fancy.” He motioned down to his ribs. “And I should be fully healed by then.”

“Sounds wonderful.” She stretched up to give him a peck on his cheek, an unbidden smile spreading over her lips at the way he leaned into her touch, closing his eyes. He really was just a big cat, wasn’t he? 

“I’ll see you then.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's too few Lucy and Loke fics on this site! It's honestly a shame, I really ship them.


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